Red, White, and Blue Banner Quilt

My first finished quilt of 2012. I pulled fabrics for this one right before my son was born and I sat at our coffee table with my huge pregnant belly trying to rotary cut the flags (and baste it!). I was trying to get it finished before he was born. Because newborns need quilts, right? (They don’t.)

I finally completed it at retreat in February this year, but it’s been gathering dust in a cabinet because I was afraid to wash it. I had visions of the red ric rac bleeding all over the white background. But I finally washed it and the red stayed put. I copied this giant ric rac idea from my friend Michelle (Urban Spools) and it’s really the cutest way to make one of these bunting quilts. I did a few lines of hand-quilting with Perle cotton above the flags on the first one I made. That was cute but didn’t have the impact of the ric rac.

The backing is a plain navy fabric, and the binding is scrappy, using leftovers from the FQs I cut up for the flags. This really is a super quick quilt to make. For a baby, I use 1 yard of fabric for the back and front, baste it, and quilt. Square it up, and then add the flags, pinning in place, and stitch around each one. Attach the ric rac on top of the flags (I used my free motion foot to follow the curves). Bind it, and you’re done!

Dimensions: 36″ x 44″

Fabrics: Recess, Pindots, and Punctuation by American Jane, Dumb Dots from Michael Miller, Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry, Bella Solids by Moda